Hamas spokesman Hassan Youssef was arrested during raids carried out by the Israeli military in the West Bank. About it reported CNN channel citing data from Israeli authorities.
Youssef was arrested “on suspicion of acting on behalf of Hamas,” Israel’s Shin Bet security agency told CNN.
CNN notes that Yousef is one of the leading Palestinian political figures, is the official representative of Hamas in the West Bank and holds a seat in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Yousef is believed to be among more than 60 Hamas members detained by Israel in raids in the West Bank.
According to the channel, Yousef was repeatedly arrested by Israeli forces and spent a total of 24 years in Israeli prisons on various charges of incitement, entering Jerusalem without permission and belonging to Hamas. He regularly appears in international media, and on October 18 stated in an interview with the Canadian publication The Globe and Mail that, in his opinion, Hamas is ready to release a number of hostages if Israel agrees to a 24-hour ceasefire to allow the delivery of aid to Gaza.
On the morning of October 7, the Palestinian group Hamas began military operations against Israel. The IDF responded by launching Operation Iron Swords, striking hundreds of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government announced that the country had entered a state of war.
